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The Confederate Lawyer
May 6, 2010
Terminating Human Abortion Instrumentalities
(satire)
by Charles G. Mills
GLEN COVE, NY — Recently a man in Kansas City was sentenced to life in prison for terminating a human abortion instrumentality. I do not approve of terminating human abortion instrumentalities and would never do it. My objections are moral and spiritual. I do not, however, want to impose my religion on those who disagree with me.
The anti-selection press has referred to this man as a killer of a doctor and as a murderer of a doctor. Such extreme rhetoric does not help. It prevents both those who support and those who oppose freedom of selection from working together toward moderate solutions. Such solutions might include a legislative prohibition against terminating human abortion instrumentalities over the age of 90 years, or prohibiting burning human abortion instrumentalities alive.
One must start by realizing that the decision to terminate a human abortion instrumentality is a deeply personal one and a difficult one. Nobody makes such a decision lightly, and no one enjoys terminating any human instrumentality. The government should not be involved in such a personal decision. It should be strictly between the terminator and his spiritual advisor.
Our present sweeping laws against terminating human abortion instrumentalities force this activity to be taken illegally in back alleys where it cannot be regulated. If it were legal, there could be requirements that it be carried out as painlessly and efficiently as possible. This could be done by requiring marksmanship training before undertaking a termination. There could also be requirements as to the type of rifle used. Under present law, a person could terminate a human abortion instrumentality with a shot that would leave the instrumentality lingering for days before its death. Termination could even be carried out with such primitive means as bows and arrows, spears, swords, or battle axes.
Our present laws also discriminate against the poor. The rich can always buy a first-class ticket on a flight to some Islamic country where it is legal to stone or behead human abortion instrumentalities. The poor have no such options.
Our present laws also breach the Constitutional Wall of Separation between church and state. The prohibition against terminating human abortion instrumentalities is rooted entirely in an interpretation of Judeo-Christian morality, particularly of the commandment given to Moses against murder. Even if a majority of the country thinks terminating human abortion instrumentalities is murder and that murder should be illegal, we cannot determine questions of Constitutional law by a majority vote. Certainly those who select to terminate a human abortion instrumentality do not think themselves guilty of murder. To impose our views on them constitutes the establishment of a state religion.
Extremists have made our laws on this subject for too long. Moderate people on both sides of the issue should work together to end back-alley termination of human abortion instrumentalities now and establish a system of regulated, sanitary, painless terminations of human abortion instrumentalities for those who truly, if regrettably, need to take that course of action.
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The Confederate Lawyer column is copyright © 2009 by Charles G. Mills and the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation, www.fgfBooks.com. All rights reserved.
Charles G. Mills is the Judge Advocate or general counsel for the New York State American Legion. He has forty years of experience in many trial and appellate courts and has published several articles about the law.
See his biographical sketch and additional columns here.
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